Intel drones are coming to the next Olympics

Intel announced on Wednesday that it would partner with the International Olympic Committee through 2024. Intel is bringing a variety of its new technology to the Olympics, including its virtual reality and 360-degree technology, and of course, drones.

“Intel drone light show technology will create never-seen-before images in the sky,” according to a statement issued Wednesday by Intel.

Intel’s drones have lit up the sky at various light shows in a performance that resembles fireworks, but what some analysts say is more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.

Intel’s “Shooting Star” drone

Intel’s “Shooting Star” drones were announced in 2016. Each drone is about the weight of a volleyball and can be programmed with relative ease to light up in any shape and in 4 billion color combinations for commercial entertainment light shows.

The Intel and IOC partnership would include sponsorship of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China and the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will take place in either Los Angeles or Paris, France.

The new technologies like virtual reality and drones could be the boon the IOC needs to get younger viewers interested in watching the Olympics. Ratings for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio were down more than 30% in the key 18-34 demographic compared with the 2012 London Games, according to MarketWatch. Meanwhile, online viewers streamed a combine 3.4 billion minutes of Olympics during the 2016 summer games.